Hieam stevens maxim



(No Model.)

' H. S. MAXIM.

} MAGAZINE FIRE ARM.

Patented May 5, 1885.

N x I N. PETERS, Pholb-Lrlhogviphor. Wathxngmn. n. c.

gated when the cartridge is exploded, so as to l tribe.

ATENT HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO ALBERT VIOKERS AND ROBERT R. SYMON, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

FIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 317,162, dated May 5, 1885.

Application filed J nne 30, 1884. (N0 model.) Patented in England May 26, 1884, No. 8,242, and in France June 28, 1884, No. 162,735.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Magazine or Repeating Rifles and other Guns, (for which I have applied for provisional pro tection in Great Britain on the 26th day of May, 1884, No. 8,242,) of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates, chiefly,to magazine or repeating rifles, but comprises various improvements, which are also applicable to machine or battery guns.

In the specifications accompanying former applications for United States Letters Patent I have described automatic guns-that is to say, guns in which the feeding, firing, extracting, and ejecting devices are operated by force developed by the recoil of the breech-block and parts connected therewith. The chief object of my present invention is to construct a magazine or repeating rifle in such a manner that the breech mechanism will be operated by force developed in this manner, but so that the trigger must be pulled to effect each discharge of the rifle-that is to say, after each discharge of the rifle the breech-block will recoil and extract and eject the empty cartridge-shell and cook the gun, and in its return movement, which is caused by aspring or springs, will insert a fresh cartridge in the barrel and close the breech, thus preparing the gun for the next discharge; but the trigger must then be pulled in order to fire the gun. My improved rifle is therefore not entirely automatic.

One important feature of my present invention,which is also applicable to the said automatic guns, is the employment of a togglejoint, in combination with the breech-blockand with one or more springs, which are acted upon by the breech-block in its recoil and then react to force the said breech-block home. In combination with the said breech-block and toggle-joint I sometimes use a cartridge of peculiar construction. This cartridge is made with a corrugated shell, which will be eloncause the recoil of the breeclrblock. This elongation will prevent the said shell from being torn asunder or the base from being blown out of the said shell when the breech-block commences its recoil.

My present invention, moreover, comprises various other novel features of construction, as hereinafter described.

My improved rifle may be adapted for use with a Lee, Mannlicher, or other magazine, and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical longitudinal central section showing my improved rifle adapted for use with a Mannlicher magazine. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a side elevation. Fig. 4 is a plan, partly in horizontal section; and Fig. 5, a transverse section showing a detail of construction of the said rifle.

a is the stock, I) the barrel, and c the shoe or body,of the gun.

d is the breech-block, which is arranged to slide to and fro in suitable guides at the rear of the barrel.

cf are the two links of a toggle-joint,which is coupled at one end to the breech-block d, (the said breech-block being slotted at its rear end for this purpose,) and at the other end to the shoe or body 0 of the gun.

A spring, 9, is coiled around and secured at one end to the central pin or bolt, of the toggle-joint, and its other end. is held byapin or stud, g fixed in the link f.

The firing-pin 7b is arranged within the breech-block d, and is acted upon by a spring, i, whereby it is caused to strike the cap or priming of the cartridge when released by the pulling of the trigger.

I provide for the cooking of the firing-pin h as follows-that is to say, I make the said firing-pin with a slotted head, h, in which is pivoted the sear j. This sear is a bell-crank lever, and is acted upon by a spring, 7;, which presses its horizontal or forwardly-projecting arm downward. The head h of the firing-pin h has a hooked extension, 72*, with which a projection or shoulder, c, on the forward link, 0, of the toggle-joint engages in the rearward movement of the breech-block (Z, so as to draw back or cock the firing-pin. This shoulder or projection, moreover, prevents the said pin from striking the cartridge and firing the gun before the breech is closed. When the said firing-pin is thus drawn back or cocked, the sear j is caused by its spring to engage with a shoulder, d on the breech-block, whereby the said firing-pin is retained in its cocked position.

The vertical or downwardly-proj ecting arm of the sear j is arranged to engage with a sliding bar, Z, coupled at its rear end to the trigger m, and acted upon by a spring, n, which presses it upward. The forward end of this sliding bar is made with a longitudinal slot, Z, through which is passed a pin or stud, 0, fixed in the shoe or body 0 of the gun. The forward end of the bar Z is, moreover, formed with a' shoulder, Z to engage with the searj. The bar Z, trigger m, and sear j are arranged in combination with each other, as shown, so that when the trigger m has been pulled to fire the gun the said trigger must be released before it will again engage with the sear j.

The extractor p is made in the form of a spring, with a hook, p, at its forward end to engage with the flange of a cartridge. It has, moreover, two lateral projections, 12 which are made with elongated slots 10 through which are passed screws 19*, for securing the extractor to the breech-block in such a manner that the latter will recoil a short distance before it operates the extractor, for the purpose described in the first of the said former specications.

In combination with the forward link, 6, of the toggle-j oint, I provide a handle, g, which is fixed to the pin or bolt 0", that couples the said link to the breech-block. The object of this handle is to enable the breech-block to be readily drawn away from the breech end of the barrel if a cartridge should miss fire,'or if the breech should be closed without a cartridge being inserted in the barrel. This handle is so arranged that by pulling it backward it will simultaneously impart a downward angular movement to the link 0 and a rearward longitudinal movement to the breech-block d.

I make the cartridges for my improved rifle with corrugated shells, as shown in Fig. 1

that is to say, each cartridge-shell is made with a series of circular corrugations, 8, near its base. When a cartridge thus made is exploded in the barrel of the gun, the pressure in the cartridge-shell causes it to assume a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical form, and thus slightly elongate, so that its base recoils partly with the breech-block. The extractor then operates to draw the empty shell out of the barrel.

I prefer to provide means similar to those described in the specification accompanying a former application for United States Letters Patent whereby the breech-block can, if desired, be held back after its recoilthat is to say, I provide a catch, A, pivoted to the breech-block, and acted upon by a spring, so as to cause it to enter a notch or recess in the shoe or body of the gun when the breech-block has reached its rearmost position. This catch can berendered operative or inoperative by adjusting the lever B,which has a cam-shaped end or eccentric. WVhen this lever is in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4:, the catch will operate; but when the said lever is in the position shown in full lines in the same figure the said catch is prevented from operating.

The operation of this form of my improved rifle is as followsthat is to say, the parts are shown in the position which they occupy when the gun is ready for firing. When the searj is disengaged from the shoulder cZ, by pulling the trigger in the firing-pin h strikes the cap or priming of the cartridge. The explosion of the cartridge causes the breechblock to recoil, and thereby extract the empty cartridge-shell (which is ejected by striking a projection on the shoe or body of the gun or in any other suitable manner) and fold or bend the togglejoint until it assumes the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. This movement of the toggle-joint cooks the firing-pin through the medium of the shoulder or projection e and the hookedextension h and compresses the spring which then reacts, and by straightening the toggle-joint forces the breech-block home. The breech-block in its forward movement pushes into the barrel a fresh cartridge, which has been raised out of the magazine by the spring contained therein. If the trigger has been released after pulling it to fire the gun, the vertical or downwardly-projecting arm of the sear j engages with the shoulder Z of the sliding bar Z, and the gun is ready for the next discharge; but if the trigger is not so released the sear will not engage with the shoulder Z and the gun cannot be fired until the trigger is released and the sear allowed to engage with the said shoulder.

I am aware that a toggle-joint has heretofore been employed in combination with a lever for moving the breech-block to and from the breech end of the barrel by hand, as in the well-known Winchester rifle. I do not, therefore, claim this device; nor do I claim, broadly, the employment of a toggle-joint in combination with the breech-block, except when it is arranged to be operated by the recoil of the breech-block and by one or more springs.

What I claim is 1. In a magazine-gun or repeating-rifle wherein the breech mechanism is operated by the explosive force of the charges, the combi nation, with a breech-block arranged to move or slide in line with the barrel and the mechanism carried by said breech-block, of a toggle-lever within the frame or stock connected with the breech-block, and a spring or springs connected with the toggle and the frame of the gun so as to operate in opposition to the recoil of the breech-block, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In a magazine or repeating rifle, the

combination, with the breech-block d, ar- I ranged to move or slide in line with the barranged to move or slide in line with the barrel and the cartridge-firing and shell-extracting mechanism carried by the breech-block, of the toggle e f within the frame or stock, connected to the breechblock and frame, and the spring 9, connected with the toggle and the frame, so as to be compressed by the recoil of the breech-block, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a magazine or repeating rifle, the combination, with the breech-block d, arranged to move or slide in line with the barrel, and the cartridge-firing and shell-extracting mechanism carried by the breech-block, of the toggle e f within the stock or frame, and connected to the toggle and the frame, the spring 9, arranged to be compressed by the recoil of the breech-block, and the handle q, for moving the breech-block and compressing the spring by hand, as set forth.

4. In a magazine or repeating rifle, the combination, with the breech-block (1, ar-

rel, the toggle cf, and spring 9, located in the stock or frame and connected with the breechblock, of the firing-pin h, passing through the breech-block, and provided with the hooked extension 7L2, arranged for engagement with a projection, e, on the link 6 of the toggle, as herein described,

5. In a magazine or repeating rifle, the combination, with the breech-block d and the firing-pin h, having the slotted head h, of the sear j, pivoted in the said head, the spring K, acting upon the sear, the sliding bar Z, and the trigger on, arranged for operation in substantially the manner set forth.

In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing 40 witnesses.

HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM. Witnesses:

J. \VATT, JOHN DEAN,

Both of 17 Graccchurch Street, London. 

